Barbecue Chicken Pizza on the Grill

Here's a leftover idea and a method for making pizza on the grill. As I mentioned before, we love pizza but summer is not the time to be cranking up your oven as high as it will go and preheating a pizza stone. It took us a few tries cooking it on the grill but I think we've really got it down now. Many recipes have you put the dough right on the grill but this one is a little simpler I think. It also gives you as much time as you need to make sure your cheese is melted and brown and your toppings crispy. Let's call this recipe a collaboration since Chris definitely helped perfect it.


Time: 1 hour
Serves: 2, with leftovers

Ingredients

• 1 recipe pizza dough
• 1 cup of barbecue sauce
• 1 cup of cooked, shredded chicken
• 2 cups of mozzarella cheese (you could also use Gouda here and/or add a little cheddar to the mix)
• 1 fresh jalapeno
• 1 small red onion
• small bunch of fresh cilantro

Prep

1. If you're making my dough, follow the first half of the recipe until the dough is resting on your counter.
2. Preheat on your grill to high and close the lid. I only used 2 of the burners since my pizza pan only takes up 2/3 of the grill. While the grill heats and the dough rests, prep your toppings.
3. Split your jalapeno and remove the seeds. Then slice into thin slices.
4. Peel and thinly slice your onion.

5. Mix up your chicken with a couple TBSP of your BBQ sauce.

6. Grate your cheese.

7. By now, your dough should have had long enough to rest. Go ahead and roll it out, laying it on your pizza pan. You could use an upside down cookie sheet here too if you don't have a pan like mine.
8. Add the rest of your BBQ sauce to the dough and spread it around. I added a little olive oil to the outer crust here too.

9. Top the pizza with cheese, then the BBQ chicken, jalapenos and onions.

Cook

1. Using oven mitts, transport your pizza out to your grill. You'll also need a timer, a spatula and 2 bricks. Place your pizza on top of your hottest spot (where your burners are on high) then close the lid and set a timer for 3 minutes.

2. After three minutes, use your oven-mitted hands to spin the pizza 180° or halfway around. Close the lid again and set a timer for 3 minutes.
3. Get your bricks ready and when your 3 minutes are up, open the grill, and use your spatula to lift up the pizza to make sure the crust is cooked through. If it sticks, rotate the pan again and cook for a couple minutes longer. If it is cooked through, slide the bricks underneath the pizza pan. I slid my pizza to the other side, set the bricks on the hot side, then used my oven mitts to move the pizza on top of the bricks. Close your lid again and cook the pizza for another 10 minutes or so.

4. While the pizza cooks on top of the bricks, go inside and chop some cilantro.
5. When your pizza looks brown and bubbly on top, turn off your grill and use your oven mitts to carry it inside. Top with your chopped cilantro, cut and serve.